National energy trends such as the slow growth of electricity use and low natural gas prices will be felt by Charlotte’s utilities in 2013.

But local issues will have the greatest impact on Duke Energy Corp. and Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc.

That will be most true for Duke, which will be looking for a new chief executive in 2013 while resetting its executive team and looking to complete the integration of Progress Energy Inc. that began with a stumble in July.

Duke is entering a third year of transition since proposing its $32 billion purchase of Progress. The deal ended with a surprise that outraged regulators when the Duke board reversed the decision to have Progress CEO Bill Johnson run the merged companies.

That led to a face off with the N.C. Utilities Commission that ended in a settlement that requires Jim Rogers to step down as Duke CEO when his contract expires next December. Duke also must reassign three top executives and remake its board.

All of that could make focusing on merger integration difficult in the coming year. There is no obvious heir apparent to Rogers and it’s likely the company will look outside for his successor.

But observers generally believe Duke is a strong company that will get past the tumult of Johnson’s ouster and the ugly battle with regulators.

“I think Duke just picks up and moves on from here,” says Paul Patterson, analyst at Glenrock Associates.

The merger has gone smoothly below the C-level suite. Lloyd Yates, who ran the Progress Energy Carolinas utility before the merger, will be in charge of regulated utilities for Duke, a condition of the settlement with regulators. A big part of his job will be to restore a good working relationship with the N.C. commission.

He will be helped by John McArthur, whom the commission has required Duke to retain as a consultant for regulatory affairs. McArthur was a top Progress exec who was originally slated to head Duke’ regulated utilities in the merger. But he resigned to protest Johnson’s ouster.

Some critics cite McArthur’s mandated role as an example of how the commission went too far into what should be corporate prerogatives. But North Carolina remains the key state in Duke’s franchise. Its willingness to accept intrusive conditions demonstrates how important it will be for Duke to restore its relationship with regulators.

“I would think that Duke would look to have a period of normalcy,” says Steve Piper, associate director of power markets for SNL Financial. “It would want to consolidate the merger, get a read on the economy and a read on load growth, and decide how to absorb the capital expenditures it’s committed to.”

Progress has a double-digit rate hike pending before the NC. Utilities Commission. Duke will file for an increase — likely to be in a similar range — in February. These cases will be a clear test of whether Duke has managed to repair relations with the commission.

In the Carolinas, capital spending on plant construction is going relatively smoothly. Duke’s new 825-megawatt Cliffside coal unit and its 620-megawatt Dan River natural gas plant will be on line early next year. Progress will see its 950-megawatt Lee natural gas plant and its 625-megawatt Sutton plant in operation next year.

But that leaves two major out-of-state projects that have dogged the company for the last two years — Progress Energy Florida’s crippled Crystal River nuclear plant and Duke Energy Indiana’s Edwardsport gasified-coal plant.

The Edwardsport plant is expected to cost $3.5 billion to build. When it was proposed in 2006, its cost was pegged at $1.9 billion.

Edwardsport is slated to be running by the middle of next year. It was supposed to go on line this year. Issues in testing the plant have delayed commercial operations and added to its cost. Meanwhile, Duke is waiting for regulatory approval of a proposal that would cap its recovery for the plant from Indiana customers at $2.88 billion.

Edward Jones analyst Andy Smith says getting the plant operating and resolving the regulatory issues have to be top priorities for Duke in 2013.

And Duke must decide whether to repair or replace Crystal River. That decision is expected by June. An engineering study commissioned by Duke has pegged the likely repair costs at up to $2.4 billion, although it says a worst-case scenario could drive the tab to $3.4 billion.

Analysts generally predict a good year for Duke. The consensus forecast is for earnings of roughly $4.40 per share, up from an estimated $4.27 per share this year. Duke will details its expectations for 2013 at an annual analyst conference in February in New York.

Piedmont Natural Gas forecasts earnings of $1.67 to $1.77 per share next year. Analysts are projecting $1.75 per share in 2013 and $1.62 a share this year.

Low gas prices stemming from abundant U.S. production have increased its customer base and induced Progress and Duke to rely more heavily on natural gas for production. Piedmont’s natural gas sales to utilities are spiking.

SNL’s Piper says the sales to electric utilities should help increase demand during summer months, when gas demand is weakest.

Although such sales have low margins, they are in great volume and should help balance Piedmont’s demand, he notes.

Morningstar analyst Travis Miller says Piedmont “is well-positioned to benefit from the revolution in shale-gas development on its unregulated side” — its pipeline and storage businesses.

The company is investing $180 million for a 24% stake in a pipeline that will move gas from the Marcellus shale field in Pennsylvania to New England.

Closer to home, Piedmont expects to spend up to $575 million next year on capital projects, including up to $85 million to complete a pipeline and other infrastructure to transport gas to Progress Energy’s Sutton plant.

Piedmont’s capital spending plan is among the largest in its history, although it’s less than the $550 million to $600 million it will spend this year.

The company intends to issue 4 million new shares of stock in 2013 to help finance the capital projects. A Piedmont spokesman says the stock sales will keep the company’s capital ratios in line, balancing the use of equity and debt to finance its growth.